Refiguring
"In the world through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself.” – Frantz Fanon
The newly renovated Clark Centre for the Arts, situated on Scarborough bluffs, boasts not only stunning contemporary architecture accompanied by historical relics, but also a serene forest teeming with wildlife. Carrying on the Guild's rich heritage of supporting local artists, the Clark Centre continues to serve as a dynamic cultural hub for local communities.
Our current exhibition Refiguring is rooted in the Clark Centre's community-oriented approach, paying tribute to its creative legacy. By proposing a communal space that celebrates difference and encourages change, it refigures the site as a “contingent ‘in-between’ space, that innovates and interrupts the performance of the present.” (Homi K. Bhabha) To achieve this, we invited four emerging artists, Ali Sheikh, Sierra da Silva-Canadien, Tizzi Tan and Zim Yu, to create works that connect the past and the present. Although their practice ranges from photography to painting, they share a common interest in figures. On display in Gallery 191, these figures highlight presence and absence, the seen and the unseen, and the body and its surroundings. Through this collaborative project, we envision a future at the Clark Centre for the Arts that welcomes all kinds of figures.
Curator: Anqi Li
Inconsolable, 2023, oil on canvas, 39 x 39 inch
Sierra da Silva-Canadien (she/her) is a Mohawk-Portuguese visual artist and a full-time undergrad student at OCAD University residing in Toronto, Ontario. Her work - both in photography and drawing/painting - takes inspiration from her interest in the human form, and incorporates it in her portraiture, abstracted and figurative work.
Wild Grass, 2023, inkjet print, approx. 49 x 37 inch
Tizzi Tan (she/her) was born in Yunnan, China. She studied visual art at Sheridan and was the 2022 Photography medalist at the 2022 OCAD GradEx. Her lens-based work focuses on subtle perceptions and meanings of existence under current social conditions.
Humiliation, 2023, coloured pencil and marker on paper, 8 x 8 inch
